Event(s) Summary
Number of Events Organized During Brain Awareness Week:
1
Year:
2020
Type of Events Held:
- Brain Fair
- Exhibit
Target Audiences:
- General Public
Approximate Number of People Reached:
500
Details of Major Brain Awareness Week Events/Activities:
Brain Day in Detroit is an annual event that has been held for over 20 years, including in 2020 prior to the national shut-down resulting from there pandemic. This years event was held on March 7, 2020. An estimated 500 members of the general public attended the event.We partner with the Michigan Science Center (http://www.mi-sci.org/), a hands-on educational center located in Detroit. 16 interactive stations were placed throughout the science center, each presented by a different research group encompassing two universities and multiple departments and programs. These displays were staffed with over 100 volunteers, including undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and post-docs. This broad list of participants helps to underscore the importance of the event in bringing together members of the Detroit neuroscience community for this event. Activities included a human brain display, exhibits on brain development and aging, interactive demonstrations on learning and the brain, activities focused on drug safety and addiction, games demonstrating sensory function and plasticity, and more!Disposable supplies are donated to the individual activity groups from their home units. We received a donation of “Miracle Berry” tablets for our sensation of taste exhibit from there manufacturer of this product (mBerry). Most of the “take-aways” distributed at the event are generously provided by the DANA foundation.
Event Planning & Publicity
Publicity Methods Used:
- Calendar Listings (newspapers, radio, television)
- Emails
- Posters/Flyers
- Social Media
Which of These Publicity Methods Was The Most Successful?
Resources
Of the Dana Foundation publications/resources distributed at your event(s), if any, please indicate the three most popular. Please choose up to three. If "other," please indicate below:
- The Mindboggling Workbook
- Brain Awareness Week Stickers
- Brain-shaped Erasers
What downloadable materials from the Foundation did you use for your events?
- Puzzles: BAW Favorites
Which BAW graphic materials did you use in publicizing your events?
- Brain Awareness Week Logos
Feedback & Keys to Success
How do you feel BAW participation benefited your organization and the local community?
It helps to bring our Neuroscience community together – from high school students to faculty. We are spread out across the university and the Detroit area, and this is the only event that brings everyone together.
Please share any suggestions or lessons learned that may help others plan future events:
We are organized in individual groups organized by labs or certain special interest groups (such as student orgs and our study skills academy on campus. The head organizer serves as a “Liaison” with the Science Center to arrange space, set-up tables, etc. The distribution of work means that no one is excessively burdened.
Did/do you like our Facebook page?
Yes
Was the information provided on Facebook useful?
Not really – great to see what others do, but we have our own unique situation. We are in the process of building more student-led activities, so this may change in the future.
